Blurted Thoughts

Travel Notes – Paris 03, France

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Sunday 5th June we made our way to the Louvre only to find a very long queue at the entrance. After weighing the time needed to finally be able to get in, I decided that perhaps it was not such a good idea to join the crowd and waste a couple of hours just lining up for tickets. I took some pictures and was mesmerised by the architecture of this old museum. Known as the house of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous painting, the Monalisa, the Louvre is one of the main attractions in Paris. We left the Louvre and walked towards Jardin des Tuileries, a beautiful garden with lots of park benches and statues. I bought a chocolate sorbet here and headed towards the round fountain just before the exit.

Outside the gates of this garden you will see Place de la Concorde. This place separates Jardin des Tuileries with the beginning of Champs Elysees. I found the spot where the guillotine was placed for Marie Antoinette’s execution a few centuries ago, along with all the other French revolution icons such as Danton, Robespierre and some 2,800 other people.

Here, you will also find the Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from the viceroy of Egypt, Mohamed Ali, to Louis Phillipe. The obelisk, 22.83 meters high and weighing 230 tons, which marked the entrance to the Amon temple at Luxor, was installed in 1836. As I gazed up to have a better look, I was awed by the beauty of the relief on this obelisk. The obelisk sits between two round fountains where people chat and eat ice cream before making their way to various directions from this octagon-shaped place.

My feet were a little sore from all that walking and as noon approached, we made our way towards a little panini & crepe kiosk near Boulevard St Germain where we later sat and had lunch. I chose a tomato mozarella panini and had a Nutella banana crepe for dessert. Trust me, there was no competition to that hot scrumptious crepe I had that day. I can still remember the creamy soft Nutella melt in my mouth as I sat on the park bench and watched other people eat their lunch.

We also tried our luck at the Orsay that day, but of course, the queue was as long as the one we saw at the Louvre.

We ended the day by having coffee at Rue de Buci, a typical Parisian street lined with cafes and little shops selling souvenirs and flowers. I’ve always loved people watching and couldn’t have asked for a better view.